Providence Day wins first D1 NCISAA state title in 10 years. Cabarrus Warriors win D2 crown

Two Charlotte-area teams won N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association championships Friday night.

In Charlotte, the Providence Day Chargers clinched their first NCISAA Division I state football title in 10 years. The Chargers beat Rabun Gap 14-9.

In Harrells, N.C., the Cabarrus Warriors ended Harrells Christian’s five-game win streak. The Warriors won 34-31 to win the Division II state championship.

Providence Day coach Chad Grier won the state title in only his second season at Providence Day.

Liam Groulx, whose two older brothers won NCISAA state titles when Grier was the head coach at Davidson Day, caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Grant Logan with five minutes left in the third quarter in what proved to be the winning points. Groulx also had a first-quarter interception.

“We knew we had to come out here and be physical with them,” said Groulx. “We beat them the first game (Oct. 21 regular-season matchup) with physicality. We knew they had us beat in size, and I knew I had to come out here and play my best, and that’s what I did.”

A scoreless first quarter saw Providence Day get two takeaways — an interception and a fumble recovery — but the Chargers could not take advantage. Following Groulx’s interception Providence Day drove into the red zone, but a 26-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.

With under a minute to play in the first half, the Chargers broke the ice as Providence Day quarterback Grant Logan threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Channing Goodwin for a 7-0 advantage.

Logan went 14-of-25 for 137 yards for the game with two touchdowns and one interception.

Hoping to take the 7-0 lead into the half, Providence Day’s defense gave up three consecutive big plays. Rabun Gap drove 75 yards in just three plays and scored with no time remaining in the half on a 20-yard TD pass from quarterback Aidan Semo to 6-foot-7 wide receiver Marlin Klein to knot up the score at 7.

The Eagles’ first second-half possession saw them put together a 16-play, 71-yard drive and a first-and-goal at the Chargers’ 5-yard line. But on fourth down from the Providence Day 2-yard line the Chargers stopped Rabun Gap to deny the Eagles any points on the long drive.

Providence Day linebacker Kayann Adbul-Rahim was one of several Chargers to deny Rabun Gap the end zone on the crucial fourth-down stop.

“You know the phrase, big-time players make big-time plays in big time moments,” said Abdul-Rahim. I had to come through for my team, of course, and keep us the lead.”

THREE WHO MATTERED

Liam Groulx, Providence Day: Chargers’ tight end and linebacker made big plays on both sides of the ball, and a caught a huge 17-yard TD pass in the third quarter to give Providence Day a lead it would not relinquish. Groulx also had a first-quarter interception.

Marlin Klein, Rabun Gap: Senior wide receiver from Koln, Germany, had five catches for 94 yards and one touchdown.

Jordan Shipp, Providence Day: Chargers sophomore wide receiver played defense on the Eagles’ last-gasp attempt to score, and had an interception on the final play of the game to seal the win and state championship for Providence Day.

WORTH MENTIONING

▪ The Chargers edged Rabun Gap 25-14 in their regular-season meeting on Oct. 22. Including Friday’s state title game, Providence Day held the potent Eagles’ offense to 23 points in two games.

THEY SAID IT

“The school spirit was crazy. I’ve had people I’ve never talked to, never seen that told me in the hallways that they needed me in this game. I need to make plays and do my thing. I felt the spirit and the love from the team.” — Chargers’ linebacker Kayaan Abdul-Rahim on trhe week of school spirit at Providence Day leading up to the championship game.

RECORDS: Rabun Gap (8-3), Providence Day (8-3)

Rabun Gap 0 9 0 0 — 9

Providence Day 0 7 7 0 — 14

PD: Channing Goodwin 28 pass from Grant Logan (Sydney McCorkle kick)

RG: Marlin Klein 20 pass from Aidan Semo (Marlin Klein kick)

RG: Safety

PD: Liam Groulx 17 pass from Logan (McCorkle kick)

Photos from the game

This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 12:09 AM.